This week in Washington, D.C., a group of seasoned space veterans will begin their review of America's space program.When they meet for the first time Wednesday, pay close attention. Our community's future could be shaped by what this group does in the next few months.
You might say, "I don't work at the space center, so why should I care?" You might be thinking, "The space program's just a big waste of money. Let 'em shut it down." I implore you to pay attention to what's about to happen to NASA and to have your say.
Here's why: A busy Kennedy Space Center and a bustling Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are important to our way of life on the Space Coast.
The more people work at the spaceport, the more demand there is for housing, hamburgers, haircuts, gasoline -- everything. Name a sector of our economy, and it's influenced by government funds flowing through here because of the space program.
Those 20,000 or so cars driving onto and off our spaceport every day contain people earning a good living who might move elsewhere if there's no work here. Tens of thousands of people cram our beaches, roadsides and parks several times a year to see shuttles and rockets blast off. They spend money while visiting. Economists peg the space program's impact here at more than $4 billion a year.
Space is a part of our identity. It boosts our image worldwide. It draws tourists. It impacts our quality of life in ways you might not think about.
For instance, our schools are among the best in Florida and in the United States. Is that because of good leaders and teachers? Sure. It's also because of good, smart parents. Brevard County's population is among the most educated in Florida. Why? We have more high-tech workers than most communities.
You can follow the panel meetings at floridatoday.com and in the newspaper.
NASA TV intends to broadcast at least the first panel hearing, though the agency is still working out the details, including potential conflicts with mission coverage. Whatever NASA TV is broadcasting, we'll be showing it on our space blog, The Flame Trench, too.
See mypast space columns:
8 comments:
We need to keep the space shuttles flying. We cannot have this five-year gap that will only get larger. We cannot rely on Russians to bring us up to and down from space. We cannot abandon our only way to get into space...especially to the ISS that we have such a large stake in.
The shuttle program MUST be extended. If we retire the program, we can never bring it back, and I guarantee you in a very short amount of time after that happens, we're going to be scratching our heads asking, "what the heck were we thinking?"
The United States Space Program, in my expert opinion, has been destroyed in favor of a NWO Space effort. China is being favored now
The so-called International Space Station is at least 90+ percent paid for by the tax paying Sheeple in this nation of Morons.
Stopping the missions of the Space Shuttles when they can and would be able to continue during that lost period of years between programs, would keep our national scientific edge sharp and not dull to eventually go back to the moon.
Many other nations are now looking at the former greatness of the USA as a failing effort.
Why is this happening along with our national industrial destruction?
It IS the entire fault of a once great nation of patriots that are nothing more than a large herd of Sheeple with no place to go.
Our educational systems are 25th of 30 other nations on earth in Mathematics!
We are now, 24th in Science among those 30 other nations.
WE ARE SINKING FAST. Does anyone care??
WE HAVE TREASON in WASHINGTON DC!Face it, I am telling the truth.
Clark C. McClelland, Former ScO, Space Shuttle Fleet, KSC, Florida. 1958 to 1992.
clark0003@hotmail.com
Do we want Health Care that is run like NASA?
Falsely accusing our leaders of treason accomplishes nothing, and quite frankly makes you look like an idiot.
The decision to retire the Shuttle program came out of the Columbia accident. Those decisions were made 5-6 years ago. The contractors and suppliers are already in the process of shutting down support. And if you haven't been out to KSC lately, one of the two pads is already being dismantled to prepare for Constellation.
There's no going back. Deal with it.
That said, the question becomes where do we go from here. Do we go ahead with Constellation as planned, tweak Constellation, scrap it and develop Shuttle 2.0, or another option?
Personally, I think we're making a big mistake by losing the versatility of a Shuttle-like system. In its 30 years of service, it has accomplished incredible feats. The "space truck" was used to launch and service satellites, including Hubble, build the ISS, and conduct unprecedented scientific experiments. A lot of what the Shuttle can do, we won't be able to do once it's retired.
At the same time, we need to be thinking not only about near-Earth orbital projects but also resuming our exploration of the Moon and other planets, pushing out into the solar system.
Unfortunately, the political will is probably not there to spend the money for all those programs. We're in a recessionary economy, the government was already running a massive deficit before the stimulii to turn around the economy, so asking the average Congresscritter to make a big new space program a priority isn't going to happen.
If someone like the Chinese were taking off for the Moon, it might create a Space Race II and the politicians might give it higher priority. But the sad truth is asking our leaders to be visionary just isn't likely to happen when they're focused on their next election.
There's also the important aspect of encouraging private sector access to space, which takes some of the burden off the taxpayer (and the need to harass your elected officials).
In any case, instead of ranting on a blog, try contacting your elected officials in D.C. Just don't call them traitors, because they'll be far less inclined to listen. I'm sure you'd feel the same way if someone called you a traitor.
I predict that the manned space program in general will be canned before this adminstration is through. My thought behind this will be that the whole global warming craze will become the focus ("we need to study the earth in order to prevent an environmental castastrophe, NOW NOW NOW or it will be too late). The next reason will of course be budget cuts in order to support every single social cause that rolls across O's desk....and of course most folks haven't a clue what a manned space program could do for us in the generations ahead....too busy worrying about themselves.
If the gap is not closed. There will not be tourist sleeping in cars for the next 5-7 years to watch a launch and spend their money in Brevard. The gap is a problem. We all know the Shuttle needs to be replaced. It served us well and she needs a rest. Hate to say it but Brevard will have more economic problems very soon. It can't be stopped because our goverment does not have the money. I am glad we are ready to move out of this county when it all hits the fan... Don't want to be here with everyone else trying to find a j-o-b.
Settle down and take your meds Clark. I'm sure that I'm smarter than you, but I would never call you an idiot or a moron even if that were true.
Sure the shuttle could probably be used for a few more missions, but I think it's misleading to imply that we're losing our technological edge by abandoning the space shuttle. Witness the technology of the DARPA spaceplane that is about to launch on an Atlas.
By the way, the "greatness" of America that you allude to has been largely based on unsustainable economic and business practices since WWII. The military-industrial complex economic model has morphed into a corporate-capitalist model in which our elected officials DO almost exclusively serve special interests. But don't blame the "sheeple". They will prevail in the end once this current "flash in the pan" post-war economic bubble runs its course and the business world realizes that corporate dividends and increased housing values aren't a certainty, by any means.
In the meantime, enjoy your retirement (or two, or three), your social security, and your medicare. Future generations for decades (if not centuries) to come will enjoy MUCH less.
Would those replying to my emails PLEASE post your names? Or are all of you the COWARDS I call out?
READ my website IDIOT! You are apparently NOT aware of what this corrupt Fed Gov did to me after so many years.
Clark
Open my website at: www.stargate-chronicles.com
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